After stints with Weber State University and the University of Utah, the 1999 Grand Junction High School graduate earned his first time full-time coaching job as the running backs and tight ends coach at Southern Utah University.

“My goal is to make my guys the best football players they can be,” Walterscheid said. “I want to develop my guys to where they can contribute to the team.”

Walterscheid began his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at Weber State before moving onto Utah, where he was an offensive graduate assistant. Walterscheid said he tried to learn as much as he could from each position.

“I never realized how much detail there was,” Walterscheid said. “But being a GA, you do all the grunt work and learn everything that leads to being a successful football team.”

He added that coaching on Kyle Whittingham’s staff at Utah taught him the value of competition.

“Being under coach Whittingham, I learned how important competition is in everything we do,” Walterscheid said. “Competition in academics, having competition in every drill, and trying to chart every detail.”

Walterscheid played two years at the University of Utah before transferring to the alma mater of his father Leonard, Southern Utah. Walterscheid finished his career at SUU, where he played his way into the ThunderBirds’ record books for averaging 23.9 yards per kickoff return during his two-year career.

Walterscheid said returning to the Cedar City, Utah, campus brought back plenty of memories.

“The second I got on campus, I had a lot of flashbacks,” Walterscheid said. “A lot of the staff already knew who I was.”

Walterscheid didn’t have much time to reminisce, as he said he stepped onto the field right away as the ThunderBirds were in the middle of their four week spring football practice.

“I jumped right in the first day and didn’t know the playbook completely, but I was able to coach football,” Walterscheid said. “I knew enough about the little things of football to make an impact.”

At only 29 years old, Walterscheid hopes to continue to make a name for himself in coaching circles and eventually become a head coach.

“I’ve been taking strides and I’m hoping to continue to do that,” Walterscheid said.